Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs)
Authorized by ACA § 3022, ACOs are designed to create incentives for health care providers to work together to treat an individual patient across care settings and across episodes of care. ACOs that lower health care costs while meeting performance standards on care quality will be eligible to receive financial incentives. Also central to the ACA health care reform initiative is the development of Patient-Centered Medical Homes (PCMHs or Medical Homes). They are designed to be a place of care where a patient’s entire spectrum of health needs are met—including physical and mental health, prevention and wellness, acute care, and chronic disease/disability management—during a finite period.
Resources
- AOTA Fact Sheet on ACOs/Medical Homes (2012) - pdf, 102 kb
- CMS Request for Information on ACOs and Medicare Shared Savings (75 Fed. Reg. 70165, November 17, 2010)
- CMS Fact Sheet on ACOs
- ACOs Final Rule (76 Fed. Reg. 67802, November 2, 2011)
- DOJ & FTC Antitrust Policy Statement (October 20, 2011)
- 6-6-11 - AOTA Comments on ACOs Proposed Rule (submitted June 6, 2011) - PDF, 212 kb
- ACOs Proposed Rule (76 Fed. Reg. 19528, April 7, 2011)
- IRS Fact Sheet, Tax-Exempt Organizations Participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program through Accountable Care (FS-2001-11)
- AOTA Analysis: Final Rule for Medicare Shared Savings Program and Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs)
